Pharmacy Prescription Errors
Pharmacy prescription errors are on the rise. So many people depend on prescriptions. Pharmacies dispense billions of pills a day in the United States. These companies make billions of dollars every year filling prescriptions. Giving the wrong medicine to a customer can cause serious harm. Can a person sue the pharmacy for dispensing the wrong prescription?
Prescriptions Are Big Business
Chain pharmacies earn big money filling prescriptions. In 2016 alone, CVS generated $120 billion in revenue from prescriptions. Mistakes in filling prescriptions can have dangerous results.
Pharmacy Dispensing Errors
Pharmacy dispensing errors make up 21% of medication errors in the United States. Studies show a connection to increased workload and errors in filling prescriptions. These errors cause serious side-effects, permanent health complications, and death. But why do these mistakes happen?
Quantity Instead Of Quality
Many pharmacies rush their pharmacy technicians. Technicians need to fill a certain amount of prescriptions per hour. It’s overwhelming. When a technician rushes to make quota, accuracy suffers. Cutting corners leads to mistakes with prescriptions. The pharmacy cares more about filling as many orders as possible.
Lack Of Procedure
Procedures prevent mistakes. It is important for a pharmacy to have procedures to prevent dispensing errors. When a prescription dispensing error occurs, a pharmacy needs to update procedures to fix the problem.
Staffing Shortage
Filling prescriptions is big money for pharmacies in Pennsylvania. Yet, many pharmacies reduce staff to increase profits even more. But, the pharmacy doesn’t hire enough technicians to fill all the orders. Instead, technicians have to rush through filling prescriptions and skip checking order accuracy. Reducing staff increases pharmacy prescription errors.
Pharmacy Prescription Mistakes
Pharmacies process thousands of prescriptions a day. It is the duty of the pharmacy to fill each prescription correctly. When a prescription mistake hurts someone, the pharmacy might be responsible. People trust their pharmacy to give them the correct medicine.
Patient Trust
It’s impossible for a person to know if they have the right medicine the first time they fill a prescription. Many people don’t know what their medicine will look like. People trust their pharmacy to give them the correct medicine and dosage every time.
When To Call An Injury Attorney
If you received the wrong prescription and suffered serious side-effects, talk to an attorney. Pharmacies have insurance to pay for your recovery. In the event a pharmacy prescription error causes the death of a loved one, there is compensation available.
Haggerty & Silverman is a law firm that helps injured people in Pennsylvania. We handle all types of injury lawsuits, motor vehicle accidents, premises liability, medical malpractice, wrongful death, and more. Our team is here to help you with any questions you have about your situation.
Free Legal Consultations
We provide free legal consultations for any injury. Our office is in Lancaster, PA. If you’ve been harmed because of a pharmacy prescription error, we are here to protect your rights. Call us today for a free consultation.